NUIG, English
1BA 2014-2015
1
NUIG English
1BA Student Handbook, 2014-2015
CONTENTS
2 – Introduction
4 – Format of 1BA English
6 – Notes on EN126, Tutorial Course & Essay Deadlines
7 – English Department Style Sheet
13 – Plagiarism Policy
15 – Assessment Guidelines
17 - Student code of conduct
This Handbook contains most of the basic information you need to know for First Year English in
NUIG. You should consult it regularly. Staff and tutors in the Department will assume that you
know the material contained in it. We recommend you read the handbook fully and carefully, as
it is your responsibility to acquaint yourself with its contents. When you need information about
First Year English, you should look in one of the following three places:
English department’s website
Blackboard (the online site where you will find information about all your First
Year English courses, including booklists, essay topics, lecture schedules, etc.)
o This 1BA handbook
If you have a serious question or problem that cannot be answered by either the departmental
website or Blackboard, then you should come to visit the Head of First Year English, Dr
O’Cinneide, in person during her office hours (Tuesdays 3-4pm and Thursdays 12-1pm). Please
use e-mail only as a last resort.
o
o
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About 1BA English
Welcome to First Year English at the National University of Ireland, Galway
(NUIG). What is English as a university subject? First, let us say what it is not. It is
not a passive study of a pre-existing dead body of knowledge about ‘English’. It is
the active creation of knowledge about literature and culture in English wherever
it is or has been spoken and written: e.g. England, the United States, Ireland,
Canada, India, Scotland, Africa, Australia, Wales, South Africa.
Reading:
You will read the very first things written in English – extraordinary poems
written on the skins of animals (vellum) – and you will read literature written
today in digital glyphs on the internet - e-books, graphic novels, blogs. You will
read epic religious poems (Paradise Lost), erotic lyrics (John Donne, Aphra Behn,
Robert Herrick, Allen Ginsberg), epistolary novels (Pamela), literary criticism,
literary history, satire (Swift), children’s fiction (the Narnia books), the plays of
Shakespeare, Romantic poems (by Shelley, Keats, Blake, Wordsworth), the
novels of Jane Austen, the Brontes, Dickens, Margaret Atwood, Nabokov, J. M.
Coetzee, plays by Ibsen, Lori-Parks, Beckett, books about being queer (James
Baldwin, E. M. Forster, Jeannette Winterson), books about celibacy (Confessions
of a Young Man), books about religion (The Faerie Queene), about war, love, sex,
murder, insanity, work, creativity, money, family, loneliness, virtue, friendship.
You will learn about fiction and non-fiction, about the difference (and kinship)
between lies and fiction, about poetics, about the theatre, about style (high and
low, and in-between). You will learn about the ways in which literature actually
gets made by flesh-and-blood human beings, who change what they write, who
scribble, make notes, erase, revise, abandon, persevere, write in bed (Proust,
Joyce), in the car (Nabokov), at their desks; great writers who sometimes gnash
their teeth over what they write. You will read things that will make you laugh
(Flann O’Brien), cry (Troilus and Criseyde), hope (Whitman), despair (1984). You
will read things that cannot easily be understood (Ulysses). And those are just a
few of the possibilities.
You will have big questions to consider – what is literature? How is it
different to history or philosophy or politics? How does it intersect with other
areas of life? How does it relate to life? Is it a mirror, a slice-of-life, or an
independent created alternative world? Or, as M. H. Abrams put it, is it the
‘mirror’ or the ‘lamp’? Does literature educate us, or ‘merely’ entertain us? Is it
moral, immoral or amoral? Does it reflect the personality or life-story of its
author? What, if anything, is it good for?
And you will have precise questions to answer: when was a certain work
written? Who wrote it? What, as far as we can tell from her letters, her
documents, her notes, was the author doing in the rest of her life when she wrote
it? Who influenced her work? Whom did she influence? What does it mean? Why
did she revise it? What are the differences between the earlier and later
versions? What can you infer from these differences?
But the most important point is that ultimately you will have to formulate
your own questions, ones that perhaps your lecturer might never ask. And
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perhaps the questions you generate will take you on quite a different path,
leading to different kinds of knowledge than the ones envisaged above.
Talking, thinking and writing:
As you read, not after, but as you read, you will make notes, talk, think
and write about what you read. The job of everyone in the university – both
lecturers and students – is to think, to pose questions, to create knowledge. That
is your work. There is no static final or definitive end to ‘information’ about a
writer or a work of literature. Students of English generate new questions all the
time, and then they try to answer them. You can do this in your very first essays
– by thinking for yourself, actually thinking hard about the thing (poem, play,
short story, novel, essay) in front of you. From your first to your last week in the
English department, you will be writing about what you are reading and what
you are thinking about what you are reading. The study of English leads to the
enrichment of your knowledge, your skills as a thinker, writer and reader, and
your whole personality. And as you enrich yourself, so you enrich the university,
your classmates, and your subject. You don’t receive an education. You make it.
Lectures and Tutorials:
The First Year program in English is designed to introduce you to three central
forms in literature (poetry, the novel, drama), and to introduce you to two
important earlier periods in English literature (Medieval and Renaissance).
English in First Year comprises two different kinds of teaching – lectures and
tutorials. The role of both student and teacher is different in each. In a lecture
(the word comes from the Latin ‘lectura’ which means a ‘reading’) an individual
lecturer discusses particular books and ideas. Lectures are valuable because they
are given by experts on the subject, and provide students with concise access to
this expertise. The student’s role is to read the assigned works carefully before
the lecture, listen actively (by taking notes, thinking, questioning) during the
lecture, and follow up with more reading and any assigned writing after the
lecture. Informed attendance at lectures is the most accessible way to gain
knowledge about a topic and to deepen your understanding of the literary
genres and/or periods in question.
Tutorials are smaller gatherings of students with a tutor. They are more
focused than the lectures on the doing of a particular task (e.g. reading a poem,
learning a skill, practising writing), and sometimes in their concentration on a
particular topic. But the most important difference between lectures and
tutorials is that the students do most of the talking in the tutorials – to each
other, and to the teacher. Your input as students is central to the work of the
tutorial.
There is a third aspect to the First Year program that has not yet been
mentioned, and that is the library, and more important, what it contains – the
books themselves. As we saw above, the word ‘lecture’ comes from the word for
‘a reading’. Reading, and thinking and writing about what you read, is the very
heart of an arts degree, and of a degree in English in particular.
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FORMAT OF 1BA ENGLISH – EN124; EN125; EN126
Lectures:
In SEMESTER 1 you will take a lecture course (EN124). This course meets three
times a week, on Tuesdays at 1 p.m., on Thursdays at 5 p.m. and on Fridays at 1
p.m. You attend all three of these lectures. The course comprises three ‘strands’:
 Poetry 1 (Dr Adrian Paterson)
 Medieval Literature (Dr Frances McCormack)
 Renaissance Literature (Dr Lindsay Reid)
EN124 is examined by means of a two-hour written examination at the end of
Semester One.
In SEMESTER 2 you will take another lecture course (EN125). This course also
involves three strands:
 Poetry 2 (Professor Sean Ryder)
 Drama (Professor Patrick Lonergan and Professor Lionel Pilkington)
 The Novel (Dr Elizabeth Tilley)
EN125 is examined by means of a two-hour written examination at the end of
Semester Two.
Lecture Schedule
EN124
Tuesdays 1-2
Thursdays 5-6
Fridays 1-2
Group 1
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
POETRY
(surnames A-L)
O’ Flaherty Theatre
O’ Flaherty Theatre
RENAISSANCE
LITERATURE
Dr McCormack
Dr Paterson
O’ Flaherty Theatre
Group 2
POETRY
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
(surnames M-Z)
D’Arcy Thompson Theatre
RENAISSANCE
LITERATURE
IT125
Dr McCormack
Semester One
Dr Paterson
Dr Reid
Dr Reid
O’ Flaherty Theatre
Group 1 always meets in the O’Flaherty Theatre on the main concourse of the
Arts Block.
Group 2 meets as follows:
Tuesdays 1-2: D’Arcy Thompson Theatre on the main concourse of the Arts
Block.
Thursdays 5-6: IT125 (IT Building, off Arts Concourse)
Fridays 1-2: D’Arcy Thompson Theatre
An interactive map of the NUIG campus can be found here:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/campus-map/
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Lecture Schedule
EN125
Semester Two
Group 1
Tuesdays 1-2
Thursdays 5-6
Fridays 1-2
POETRY II
DRAMA
THE NOVEL
(surnames A-L)
O’ Flaherty Theatre
O’ Flaherty Theatre
O’ Flaherty
Theatre
Professor Ryder
Prof. Lonergan
and Prof. Pilkington
Dr Tilley
Group 2
DRAMA
THE NOVEL
POETRY II
(surnames M-Z)
UC102, Aras Ui
Chathail Theatre
UC102, Aras Ui
Chathail Theatre
AM150 O'Tnuthail
Theatre
Prof. Lonergan
and Prof. Pilkington
Dr Tilley
Professor Ryder
Group 1 always meets in the O’Flaherty Theatre on the main concourse of the
Arts Block.
Group 2 meets as follows:
Tuesdays 1-2: UC102, Aras Ui Chathail Theatre
Thursdays 5-6: UC102, Aras Ui Chathail Theatre
Fridays 1-2: AM150, O'Tnuathail Theatre (Arts Millennium Building)
First Year Orientation takes place the week of the 1st-5th September. Regular
lectures in English then begin the following week. Detailed information including
course descriptions, calendars of lecture schedules and booklists, will be
provided at the first regular lectures in the week of 8th-12th September.
(Some material will be available earlier on from Blackboard, or see the
noticeboards/document holders in Tower 1.)
Head of First Year English: Dr Muireann O’Cinneide
Office location: 501, Third Floor, Arts Block
Office hours: Tuesdays 3-4 and Thursdays 12-1pm.
Email: muireann.ocinneide@nuigalway.ie
Tutorials:
At the beginning of the year you will join a tutorial (the code for this course is
EN126). This tutorial meets once a week through the academic year, and you will
be in the same group for the whole year. The tutorial is a small group of students
and a tutor. In your tutorial you will practice your reading and understanding of
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literature and you will develop your abilities as a writer (and thinker) about
literature. The tutorial also provides an opportunity for discussion with your
fellow-students, which will take place both outside the tutorial – online through
Blackboard – and within the tutorial time itself. You will write regularly in these
tutorials and you will submit four longer essays for grading by your lecturer.
Your tutorial is worth one third of your overall marks for First Year English.
Tutorial teaching begins in the week starting 22nd September (with students
signing up to a particular slot beforehand).
What you should expect of us:
- The tutor will be punctual, and will also end the class on time.
- S/he will let the class know in advance what the topic for discussion is to be.
- S/he will respect and encourage the contributions of everyone in the group,
and contribute to the discussion her/himself.
- S/he will adopt methods of discussion which enable the participation of the
whole class
What we expect of you:
- You are required to register for a tutorial, and to attend it regularly. We will
keep a record of any that you miss. If, for any reason, you have to miss a seminar,
you should inform the tutor, preferably in advance. Absences are recorded. It is
your responsibility to check what is required for the next session.
- You will arrive on time.
- You will have prepared properly for the tutorial.
- You will contribute to tutorial discussion (on-line and in-class) to the best of
your ability, and with due courtesy towards your fellow-students and your tutor.
E-Mail
When you arrive at NUIG you will be given a University e-mail address
(xxxxx@nuigalway.ie). This is the address that the Department and the
University will use to communicate with you. You must check it regularly.
Failure to check this account is not a valid excuse for missing information or
deadlines.
Blackboard
Blackboard is an electronic facility, available via the internet, at
https://nuigalway.blackboard.com/. On the one hand Blackboard is a storage
facility for information about your courses at NUI, Galway. The stored
information usually includes booklists, course descriptions, links to relevant
websites and electronic texts. Students and lecturers can get access to this
information at all times. Lecturers can easily update information and post news,
announcements, essay topics, etc. On the other hand, Blackboard also
incorporates an interactive dimension, such as online discussion forums, with
which you will be encouraged to engage.
Also, many of your courses in the English department will require you to
submit your written work (essays, etc.) via Blackboard. Essay topics will be
provided on the Blackboard website, as will an electronic ‘dropbox’, into which
the student uploads his/her essay by a specified deadline. You will be
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automatically enrolled on Blackboard once you have registered with the
University. Your courses will then appear once you log on with your username
and password. You should keep abreast of the developments on Blackboard in
relation to your various courses. It is advisable to confirm your access to
Blackboard before needing it for important information, online
contributions or deadlines.
EN126 ASSESSMENT AND PRESENTATION
This course is assessed by four essays, each 800-1000 words long. Essays are
submitted online via Blackboard’s Turnitin ONLY. The English Department
cannot accept hard copies of essays.
SEMESTER 1 ESSAY DEADLINES ARE:
ESSAY ONE: Friday 24th October at noon
ESSAY TWO: Friday 21st November at noon
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STYLE SHEET
Before submitting any work for 1BA English your writing must adhere to
particular presentation guidelines. Please read this section of the Handbook
carefully.
Why do I have to present my work in this way?
All scholarly and published work in the discipline of English is presented in a
particular format. This format presents information in a precise and professional
fashion. Preparing your work in a specific format also gives you practice in
following highly detailed instructions, something that most jobs demand.
Which format does the Department use?
We use the MLA style guide. You must therefore study that Style Guide and
adopt its conventions.
The following pages give some of the most important rules of presentation from
the MLA, but are not the full guidelines. If you wish to read more, or are citing a
source not mentioned in this list, please consult the 2BA or 3BA handbooks on
the NUIG English website. You can also read samples of work and MLA citation
here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1/
NUIG, MLA GUIDELINES TO DOCUMENTING SOURCES
PAGE LAYOUT
Margins: You should leave a left-hand margin of at least 1.5 inches for your
tutor's comments, plus right-hand, top and bottom margins of at least 1 inch.
Line Spacing and font size: Use double line spacing, and choose 12 point for
your font size. Footnotes/endnotes may be in 10 point.
Type face: use a single form of font for the essay (this is, for example, Cambria).
Use black throughout. Do not use Bold in your text. Use Italics very sparingly for
emphasis and don‘t use exclamation marks in academic writing!
Numbering of Pages: Pages should be numbered at the top right-hand corner,
with your surname (e.g. Smith 9).
Paragraphing: To indicate the beginning of paragraphs, indent 5 spaces (or you
can use the tab key) at the start of the line.
Title: Make sure you include the essay title.
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References & Documentation
In MLA style, you acknowledge your sources by including parenthetical citations
within your text. These refer the reader to the alphabetical list of works cited, or
bibliography, that appears at the end of the document. For example:
The close of the millennium was marked by a deep suspicion of the natural
world and an increasing reliance “upon the pronouncements of soothsayers
and visionaries, who caused hysteria with their doom-laden forecasts of the
end of humanity” (Mulligan 234).
The citation “(Mulligan 234)” informs the reader that the quotation originates on
page 234 of a document by an author named Mulligan. Consulting the
bibliography, the reader would find the following information under the name
Mulligan:
Mulligan, Grant V. The Religions of Medieval Europe: Fear and the Masses.
London: Secker, 1977. Print.
The bibliography might list a second work by this author, which, in accordance
with MLA style, would appear in the list with three hyphens substituting for the
author’s name:
---, The Tudor World. London: Macmillan, 1981. Print.
In this case, the parenthetical reference above would include more information
in order to make it clear which of the two books contains the quoted passage.
Usually, a shortened form of the title is sufficient: (Mulligan, Religions 234).
Parenthetical references should be kept as brief as clarity will permit. If the
context in which the quotation appears makes it clear which document in the
bibliography the quoted text comes from, then no further identification is
needed:
Reva Basch reports that the Georgetown Center for Text and Technology,
which has been compiling a catalogue of electronic text projects, lists “over
300 such projects in almost 30 countries” (14).
The parenthetical reference “(14),” in combination with the mention of Reva
Basch at the beginning of the passage, makes it clear to the reader that the
quoted text comes from page 14 of the following document listed in the
bibliography:
Basch, Reva. “Books Online: Visions, Plans, and Perspectives for Electronic
Text.” Online 15.4 (1991): 13-23. Print.
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Bibliography
Books
by one author:
Hillman, Richard. Shakespeare, Marlowe, and the Politics of France. New
York: Palgrave, 2002. Print.
by two authors:
Hand, Richard J. and Michael Wilson. Grand-Guignol: the French Theatre of
Horror. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2002. Print.
three authors:
Cargill, Oscar, William Charvat, and Donald D. Walsh. The Publication of
Academic Writing. New York: Modern Language Association, 1966. Print.
more than three authors:
Howe, Louise, et al. How to Stay Younger while Growing Older: Aging for all
Ages. London: Macmillan, 1982. Print.
no author given:
The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2003. Print.
an organization or institution as “author”:
American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association, 2001. Print.
an editor or compiler as “author”:
Updike, John, comp. and ed. The Best American Short Stories of the Century.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Print.
an edition of an author’s work:
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Robert P. Irvine. Peterborough, ON:
Broadview P, 2002. Print.
Milne, A. A. When We Were Very Young. New ed. New York: Dutton, 1948.
Print.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ed. R.A. Foakes.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.
a translation:
García Márquez, Gabriel. Living to Tell the Tale. Trans. Edith Grossman. New
York: Knopf, 2003. Print.
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a work in a series:
Renwick, William Lindsay. English Literature, 1789-1815. Oxford:
Clarendon P, 1963. Print. The Oxford History of English Literature 9.
a work in several volumes:
Gardner, Stanley E. The Artifice of Design. New York: Hill & Wang, 1962.
Print. Vol. 2 of A History of American Architecture. 5 vols. 1960-64.
Parker, Hershel. Herman Melville: A Biography. 2 vols. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins UP, 1996-2002. Print.
Articles
in a periodical: Issues paginated continuously throughout the volume:
Loesberg, Jonathan. “Dickensian Deformed Children and the Hegelian
Sublime.” Victorian Studies 40 (1997): 625-54. Print.
York, Lorraine M. “Rival bards: Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women and
Victorian poetry.” Canadian Literature 112 (1987): 211-16. Print.
Each issue starts with page 1:
Wilkin, Karen. “A Degas Doubleheader.” New Criterion 17.1 (Sept. 1998):
35-41. Print.
in a newspaper:
Jonas, Jack. “A Visit to a Land of Many Facets.” The Irish Times 5 Mar. 1961,
sec. F: 4. Print.
in a magazine:
Funicello, Dori. “Portugal’s Reign of Terror.” National Review 19 Aug. 1999:
34-37. Print.
in a review:
Burt, Struthers. “John Cheever’s Sense of Drama.” Rev. of The Way Some
People Live, by John Cheever. Saturday Review 24 April 1943: 9. Print.
an article in a reference book or encyclopaedia - signed and unsigned:
Haseloff, Arthur. “Illuminated Manuscripts.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1967
ed. Print.
“Painting, The History of Western.” Encyclopaedia Americana. 13th ed.
1998. Print.
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a work in a collection or anthology:
Davidson, Cynthia A. “Alyson Hagy.” American Short-Story Writers Since
World War II. Fourth Series. Dictionary of Literary Biography 244. Detroit:
Gale, 2001. 164-169. Print.
Arnold, Matthew. “Dover Beach.” Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed.
M.H. Abrams et al. 4th ed. Vol 2. New York: Norton, 1979. 1378-79. Print.
Shapcott, Tom. “Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing.” Commonwealth Literature in
the Curriculum. Ed. K. L. Goodwin. St. Lucia: South Pacific Association for
Common-wealth Literatures and Languages Studies, 1980. 86-96. Print.
Electronic Texts
The following are examples of some commonly cited types of electronic sources:
Books
an entire book converted to electronic form:
Connolly, James. Labour in Irish History. Dublin, 1910. CELT: The Corpus of
Electronic Texts. Web. 16 Jan. 2002.
Holder, William. Elements of Speech: An Essay of Inquiry into the Natural
Production of Letters. London, 1669. Early English Books Online. Web. 19
Apr. 2003.
Articles
Irving, Washington. Wolfert’s Roost, and Other Papers, Now First Collected.
New York: Putnam, 1855. 20 March 2003. Wright American Fiction 18511875. Web. 15 May 2008.
an article or chapter in an electronic book:
Lernout, Geert. “Reception Theory.” The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary
Theory and Criticism. Ed. Michael Groden and Martin Kreiswirth. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. Web. 13 June 2004.
a work that has no print equivalent:
Shute, Sarah, ed. “The Canterbury Tales: The Miller’s Tale.”
KnowledgeNotesTM Student Guides. Cambridge: Proquest Information and
Learning Company, 2002. Web. 22 May 2003.
an article in a journal accessed through an online database:
Aird, John S. “Fertility Decline and Birth Control in the People’s Republic of
China.” Population and Development Review 4.2 (1978): 225-54. JSTOR.
Web. 12 Nov. 2002.
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Haskins, Rob. “Four Musical Minimalists.” American Record Guide 64.1
(2001): 281. Research Library. Web. 10 Dec. 2003.
an article in a journal accessed directly from the publisher:
Boyd, Alex. “Comfort and Canadian Poetry.” The Danforth Review: n. pag.
Web. 14 June 2004.
a review or article in a newspaper accessed through an online database:
“Ford plans job cuts.” The Guardian 19 July 2003: B7. Canadian Newsstand
Atlantic. Web. 6 Aug 2003.
a review or article in a newspaper accessed directly from the publisher:
Scott, A.O. “Flower Children Grown Up: Somber, Wiser and Still Talking
Dirty.” Rev. of The Barbarian Invasions, dir. Denys Arcand. New York Times:
n. pag. 17 Oct. 2003. Web. 3 Nov. 2003.
an article posted on an open-access or personal website:
Berardinelli, James. Rev. of Return to Paradise, dir. Joseph Ruben. Reelviews.
1998. Web. 20 Nov. 2000.
Dyer, John. “John Cheever: Parody and the Suburban Aesthetic.” Web. 3
March 2002. <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA95/dyer/cheever4.html>.
Other Electronic Resources:
an internet site:
Literature Online. ProQuest Information and Learning Company, June 2004.
Web 5 July 2004.
a single page from a larger internet site:
“Northern Ireland Timeline: Early Christian Ireland.” BBC.co.uk. British
Broadcast Corp, 2004. Web. 20 May 2004.
a posting to an online discussion group or listserv:
Romney, Paul. “Most Important Elections.” Online posting. H-Canada:
Canadian History and Studies. 19 May 2004. Web. 1 July 2004.
a personal homepage:
Bernholdt, David E. David Bernholdt’s Personal Homepage. 8 Oct. 2001.
Web. 23 Aug. 2003.
a cd-rom publication:
The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1992. CDROM.
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a blog posting:
Steeleworthy, Michael. “Copyright and the Abuse of User Rights – a
Canadian Perspective”. the zeds. WordPress. 6 Aug. 2009. Web. 20 Aug.
2009.
*This information is adapted from a style sheet produced by the Killam
Library at Dalhousie University, Canada. Copies of the MLA Style Guide are
in the Humanities Reference section of the Library.
Is it Plagiarism?
A Quick Guide for Students
EXAMPLE
IS IT
PLAGIARISM?
SparkNotes says:
A university student whose studies are interrupted by
his father’s death, Hamlet is extremely philosophical
and contemplative.
Sam writes an essay that says:
Yes!
A university student whose studies are interrupted by
his father’s death, Hamlet is extremely philosophical
and contemplative.
SparkNotes says:
Faced with evidence that his uncle murdered his
father, evidence that any other character in a play
would believe, Hamlet becomes obsessed with
proving his uncle’s guilt before trying to act.
Yes!
Sam writes an essay that says:
Hamlet is cautious when it comes to interpreting this
evidence, evidence that any other character in a play
would believe.
NOTES
It is never acceptable to
incorporate online (or any other)
materials in your essays without
crediting the original source.
Even if Sam lists SparkNotes as
a source on his
Bibliography/Works Cited page,
his failure to put this sentence in
quotation marks still means that
he has plagiarised. Remember:
just one sentence in your essay
that is uncredited could mean
that you risk failing the entire
assignment.
It still counts as plagiarism if
Sam has copied a unique phrase
(i.e. less than an entire sentence,
or, in this example: ‘evidence
that any other character in a play
would believe’) from a source
without using quotation marks
properly crediting that source.
How do you know if a phrase is
unique? Try googling ‘evidence
that any other character in a play
would believe’—it takes you
straight back to SparkNotes.
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EXAMPLE
IS IT
PLAGIARISM?
In an article called ‘“Thy State Is the More
Gracious”: Courtly Space and Social Mobility in
Hamlet and Early Modern Culture’, Peter Sillitoe
argues:
Hamlet (1601) depicts hierarchy and social mobility
because the play focuses its attention onto a royal
court. Clearly, this approach could be applied to
many plays but Hamlet takes things much further
with its emphasis on role-play and confused social
identities. Crucially, the major characters are either
nobles or the socially mobile, and the play highlights
the workings of courtly power and the social
challenge of the revenger in light of this.
Yes!
Sam writes an essay that says:
Hamlet portrays chains of command and social
movement because the drama focuses its
concentration onto an imperial court. Evidently, this
approach could be useful to numerous plays but
Hamlet takes belongings much further with its
highlighting on role-play and perplexed
community-based identities. Vitally, the chief
characters are either aristocracy or the socially
itinerant, and the drama showcases the machinery of
courtly authority and the social test of the revenger in
illumination of this.
A blog post found online at
http://warustudiotk.blogspot.ie/2011/04/politicaland-social-themes-in-hamlet.html says:
The men throughout the play fall into two categories.
There are those like Claudius and Polonius, as
Hamlet states about Polonius, which is true also for
Claudius, “A man of words.” And then there are
those like Hamlet, Fortinbras and Laertes who are
men of action. Claudius is more of a politician king,
he has a way with words. This is vastly apparant
through out the play, but more so at the beginning
and also near the end.
[Note that this blog post contains words that are
spelled incorrectly and that Sam inadvertently
improves the quality of the writing.]
Sam writes an essay that says:
There are two categories of men in Hamlet: men of
words (as Hamlet describes Polonius) and men of
action. Claudius and Polonius fall into the first
group, whereas Hamlet, Fortinbras and Laertes all
fall into the second. It is apparent throughout the
play—particularly at the beginning and near the
end—that Claudius is a political creature who has a
way with words.
NOTES
This phenomenon has recently
become known as ‘Rogeting’ (in
fact, you can read a humorous
article about this phenomenon
here:
http://www.theguardian.com/edu
cation/shortcuts/2014/aug/08/rog
eting-sinister-buttocks-studentsessays-plagiarising-thesaurus). It
is not acceptable to cut and paste
from a source and then use a
thesaurus to simply insert
synonyms for the words.
Moreover, the results are often
nonsensical when students do
this!
It is never acceptable to cut,
paste and then slightly reword
online (or any other) materials in
your essays—even if it is ‘just’
plot summary that you are using.
Even if Sam lists blog post as a
source on his
Bibliography/Works Cited page,
his failure to cite this material
correctly in the body of his essay
still means that he has
plagiarised.
Yes!
NUIG, English
1BA 2014-2015
16
EXAMPLE
IS IT
PLAGIARISM?
Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor’s introduction to the
Adren edition of Hamlet says:
Unsurprisingly, feminist critics have expressed
difficulties with the play, deploring both the
stereotypes of women depicted in it and the readiness
of earlier critics to accept Hamlet’s view of the
Queen and Ophelia without questioning whether the
overall view taken by the play (or its author) might
be different.
Yes!
NOTES
Whenever you take sentences
and phrases directly from a
source, you must indicate that
the words are not your own by
using quotation marks. Even if
Sam includes a parenthetical
citation at the end of a sentence
or paragraph that he has
reproduced from another source
(as in this example), this is not
enough on its own!
Sam writes an essay that says:
Unsurprisingly, feminist critics have expressed
difficulties with the play, deploring both the
stereotypes of women depicted in it and the readiness
of earlier critics to accept Hamlet’s view of the
Queen and Ophelia without questioning whether the
overall view taken by the play (or its author) might
be different (Thompson and Taylor 35).
Sam is a good student who has high marks in all of
his other modules, but was found plagiarising just
three sentences in one essay that he submitted this
year.
Sam and Charlie are good friends who are taking the
same module. They submit two copies of the same
essay, on which they collaborated.
Sam and Charlie are good friends who are taking the
same module. They submit essays that have distinct
arguments, yet incorporate many of the same
sentences, phrases, or paragraphs.
Sam hires Charlie to write his essay for him.
Charlie writes an essay for his English seminar and
reuses portions that he earlier wrote for an essay due
in one of his lecture modules.
Last year, Charlie submitted a number of essays that
incorporated passages of reworded information that
he’d cut and pasted from online sources, but he’s
never been accused of ‘plagiarising’ before.
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
When plagiarism cases are being
considered, it is impossible for
lecturers to take into account a
student’s overall academic
performance or marks in other
modules.
This is a type of plagiarism
called ‘collusion’, which means
that students are collaborating in
an unauthorised manner on work
that they are both submitting for
credit.
This is still collusion, even if the
entire essay is not identical (see
the example above).
Any essays you submit must be
your own work.
This is called ‘self-plagiarism’ or
‘auto-plagiarism’. It is forbidden
to reuse materials that you have
already (or simultaneously)
submitted for credit in another
module.
If you have been doing this sort
of thing habitually but never lost
points for it, count yourself lucky
that you haven’t been caught yet,
and change your writing habits
immediately!
NUIG, English
1BA 2014-2015
17
EXAMPLE
IS IT
PLAGIARISM?
Turnitin says that Charlie’s essay is only 3%
‘unoriginal’.
Maybe, maybe not!
Turnitin says that Charlie’s essay is 46%
‘unoriginal’.
Maybe, maybe not!
Charlie writes an essay in which he uses quotation
marks appropriately and cites everything
parenthetically. However, he does not attach a
Bibliography/Works Cited page, as required in MLA
format.
Charlie writes an essay and attaches a
Bibliography/Works Cited page listing all of the
secondary sources that he consulted. He puts
everything that he has quoted directly from these
secondary sources in quotation marks to indicate it’s
not his own words, but he doesn’t bother putting any
parenthetical citations in the body of his essay to
show the source of each individual quotation.
Perhaps not exactly,
but it’s not a good
idea!
Perhaps not exactly,
but it’s not a good
idea!
NOTES
Turnitin is merely a guide that
your lecturers use to help
identify problematic essays. The
number that it produces is not
really meaningful in and of itself.
It is possible to have a low
number returned for an essay
that does, in fact, plagiarise
sources.
It is possible to have a high
number returned on Turnitin for
an essay that does not, in fact,
plagiarise any sources and has
properly credited all quotations.
Attaching a Bibliography/Works
Cited is never optional (even in
those cases where you may only
have used one primary source in
your essay and no secondary
sources at all). You will lose
marks on your essay for failing
to attach a Bibliography/Works
Cited page.
Even if you put quoted material
in quotation marks, if you fail to
give your reader an indication of
where each quotation is from,
it’s still not properly cited. You
will lose marks on your essay for
failing to cite your sources
parenthetically.
NUIG, English
1BA 2014-2015
18
EXAMPLE
IS IT
PLAGIARISM?
Sam writes an essay that uses his secondary reading
to help him position his own argument. He writes:
Hamlet can be interpreted as a play that is focused on
social class and that reinforces the patriarchal views
of its time. Peter Sillitoe, for example, argues that the
play ‘highlights the workings of courtly power and
the social challenge of the revenger’ (Sillitoe 208).
Thompson and Taylor, on the other hand, consider
feminist approaches to the play, which have
challenged ‘the stereotypes of women depicted in it
and the readiness of earlier critics to accept Hamlet’s
view of the Queen and Ophelia’ (Thompson and
Taylor 35). What unites these interpretations is their
attention to the play’s social dimensions. This essay
argues that Shakespeare’s play explores social
structures – both class and gender – in order to
critique Elizabethan society.
Bibliography
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Ann Thompson
and Neil Taylor. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2010.
Print.
Sillitoe, Peter. “ ‘Thy State Is the More Gracious’:
Courtly Space and Social Mobility in Hamlet and
Early Modern Culture.” Shakespeare 9 (2013): 20419. Print.
NOTES
Sam has used his reading of
criticism about the play in order
to develop his ideas about its
representation of society. He has
engaged with this reading in
order to formulate a new
argument. He acknowledges the
fact that these sources have
informed his argument by
quoting from them directly and
citing them correctly. He has
also cited them in his
Bibliography/Works Cited page.
No!
NUIG, English
1BA 2014-2015
19
Discipline of English Grading Scheme
for Plagiarism and Incorrect Documentation of Sources
A good English essay should take into consideration a range of possible
interpretations of the primary text, using these to develop an argument that shows
independent critical thinking. When citing interpretations made by other authors, you
must credit them accurately. Use other authors/sources to inform and develop your
own thinking about the primary text(s). Plagiarism occurs when these sources are not
correctly acknowledged.
Category of plagiarism
Maximum points awarded
More than two sentences plagiarised from 5%
a single source OR evidence of
plagiarism from multiple sources
Sentence(s) taken directly from a source
without quotation marks employed nor
attribution in parentheses, but with the
source cited in Bibliography/Works Cited
20% with stern warning in feedback
One or two sentences plagiarised
40% with stern warning in feedback
Sentence(s) taken directly from a source
without quotation marks employed, but
with subsequent attribution/reference in
parentheses
40% with stern warning in feedback
Fails to attach a Bibliography/Works
Cited
discretionary penalty with stern warning
in feedback
NUIG, English
1BA 2014-2015
20
1BA Assessment
English at University level is much more demanding than at Leaving Certificate.
The study of English at undergraduate level is designed to improve critical
thinking but it does so by training students in correct, persuasive, and analytic
use of language. Knowledge of sentence structure, grammar, and syntax is an
integral part of studying English and those writing skills are crucial to
undergraduate study at NUIG.
Essays are assessed for overall quality of thought, expression, analysis and
argument. The guidelines below are designed to give you an idea of the raised
expectations of undergraduate English and are adapted from your EN126
textbook Studying Literature by Tory Young (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2008), pp. 82-85.
Grade
First
Class
(A)
Marks
70%+
Upper
Second
(B+)
60-69%
Lower
Second
(B-)
50-59%
Third
class
(C)
45-49%
Pass
(D)
40-45%
Fail (E)
35-39%
Fail (F)
0-34%
Qualities of essay
Perceptive and original thought. Clearly structured argument
that pays attention to the question. Fluent expression and
analysis. Sophisticated awareness of the complexity of issues
raised by the question. Well-organized, progressive
argument. Use of relevant evidence to support argument,
sophisticated use of context or theory and correct use of
referencing and documentation.
Good powers of analysis and a clear organization. Thorough
treatment of the topic and a clear, accurate addressing of the
question. A well-developed argument. Correct, literate use of
English. Use of detailed supporting evidence. Good command
of context and theory.
Reasonable analysis but less developed than 2.1 or first class
work. Generally good approach to the subject but leaves out
some crucial points. Partial address of the question.
Argument isn’t fully developed. Work is too reliant on lecture
notes or secondary reading. Occasional imprecision in
English. Too generalizing an answer. Inconsistent or thin use
of evidence.
Limited analysis, lacks depth or focus on the subject.
Misunderstands or doesn’t address the question. Essay tends
toward plot summary, or paraphrase. Limited knowledge of
the text. Poor referencing. Shows poor use of language, and
has grammatical errors.
Some knowledge of the text, but very thin. Attempts an
answer but does not manage to address the question
properly. Shows lack of knowledge or is inadequate in length.
Language and grammar are poor.
Inadequate but shows some awareness of the text. No
analysis, no argument. Ineffective use of English, incoherent
syntax.
Absent answer or one that is totally inadequate.
NUIG, English
1BA 2014-2015
21
Main points from the Student Code of Conduct
Any student who enrols for any course in the University in doing so accepts the
objectives of the University and is giving a commitment, as a responsible
individual and as a member of the University community, to behave in an
appropriate manner.
The Student Code of Conduct offers guidelines as to the norms of behaviour that
accord with the obligations of students, but where more specific requirements
are in place, they are available on the University’s web site. It should be noted
that Students of the University cannot claim any privileged position in regard to
the general law of the land.
Rights and obligations of staff, students and others

Every student and staff member has the right to be treated with dignity
and respect.

Students are expected to acknowledge the authority of the staff of the
University, both academic and support staff, in the performance of their
duties.
Academic Conduct

Every student is expected to approach his/her academic endeavours with
honesty and integrity.

Each student shall comply with his/her academic programme
requirements in terms of lectures, practicals, assignments and
assessments and with all University registration, fees, library, use of
computer facilities and examination regulations associated therewith.

No student shall provide false or misleading information to or withhold
relevant information from any party regarding his/her academic
achievements
General

Every student is required to behave in a manner which enables and
encourages participation in the educational activities of the University
and does not disrupt the functioning of the University.

The maintenance of the good name of the University is in the interests of
all of the University community and, as the standing of the University
depends largely on those who represent it, it is the duty of its students at
all times to behave, both inside and outside of the University, in a way
which does not bring discredit to the University. This includes students’
use of social media (Twitter, Facebook) where those resources are
publicly accessible.
NUIG, English
1BA 2014-2015
22
The observance of the Code, so far as it applies to the individual student, is
his/her personal responsibility.
Breach of any of the regulations of the University will be dealt with either under
the appropriate approved University procedure or the Disciplinary Procedure.
(The Disciplinary Procedure is laid out in Section 6.0 of the Code of Conduct)
Some Examples of Breaches of the Student Code of Conduct










Obstruction of members of the University staff or other students in the
performance of their duties.
Any violence or threats of violence or any abuse, either physical or verbal.
Any behaviour that endangers the welfare of the individual or others.
Making derogatory or insulting comments or allegations against a
member of staff or other student either in person or utilising electronic
media such as e-mail or social networking sites including Facebook.
Publicly claiming (e.g. on social networking sites such as Facebook) to
have cheated in assessment, by plagiarism, copying notes from the
internet, etc.
Cheating, plagiarism and circumstances where a student submits the
work of another as his/her own or allows another person to undertake an
assessment or assignment for him/her.
Failure, without reasonable explanation, to carry out all or any of the
following to the satisfaction of the Academic Council: attend lectures;
attend prescribed practical classes, or laboratory, drawing-office or
clinical sessions; attend tutorial classes; meet requirements laid
down for project-work, essay-writing, or any other prescribed
course exercise.
Conduct likely to disrupt teaching, examinations, study, research, or
administration of the University.
Failure to abide by the regulations governing enrolment on the academic
programme, attendance at lectures and other prescribed exercises and
the conduct of examinations.
Abuse of alcohol or other substances on the campus.